It All Started Here
by ellasursok
Summary: OV: Post S2, Henry is sucked into the vortex only Snow is too, leaving a broken Emma, Regina and Charming to get them back but when they do, they're not alone. Lots of twists in this story, mainly being what if it wasn't just the death of Daniel that turned Regina evil, but the stillbirth of their baby daughter. Cora had told her she died, but had she really?
1. Chapter 1

Emma couldn't sleep. She was beyond exhausted, her nerves frayed beyond repair. She turned her head and looked at the bright neon numbers of her alarm clock staring back at her. 3.14am. She sighed loudly in frustration and threw her head back onto the pillow dramatically. The silence throughout the house was a welcome comfort though. Emma scrunched up her face thinking back to a few hours earlier where even with a pillow wrapped around her ears she could still make out the muted noises of Charming and Snow 'reuniting'.

'That's just one final trauma I could have lived without today' she moaned internally. She reached over to her bedside table and picked up her phone, just staring at it blankly in the darkness. She was tempted to text Regina. So much had happened that day to them both, and still Emma's day had paled in comparison to Regina's. Surely if she was lying here, exhausted and awake the Regina would be too. After all, how could she sleep with everything that had come to light? Emma continued to stare at the phone and then tossed it to the side with a huff. She was probably the last person Regina wanted to hear from anyway. After all, it was less than 12 hours since Emma had almost killed her daughter. Her daughter. Regina had a daughter. Emma still couldn't believe it, her head spinning with the thought. Regina had a daughter. And she was beautiful and courageous and kind and she had saved Henry and Snow White. Not Emma, not Charming, not Regina. No, it was Regina's daughter who had saved her son and mother, putting her life on the line to save theirs. And in return, Emma had almost killed her. She thought back to the hours earlier in the day as she straddled the young woman's chest, literally watching as she caused the life to fade from her eyes. Emma closed her eyes and tried to think of something else, but she couldn't stop thinking about those eyes. Eyes that Emma could swear she had seen before. Eyes that Emma could swear she had known her whole life. But that was impossible, they had just met... And she had almost killed her.

Emma rolled onto her stomach and rubbed her temples, trying to sooth her cluttered mind with thoughts of Henry. Henry was back, he was safe. Yes, that's what she should be thinking of. Henry, her son, her beautiful son who had disappeared almost a month ago after being sucked into the vortex with Snow.

Emma winced thinking back to that day, the very thought of it still made her stomach churn and head spin. Emma, Regina, Charming and Snow running so fast down the docks that they made the world look like it was standing still. Henry was screaming for them, screaming for their help as Greg and Tamara held him captive. Emma could still hear his cries even now. As Regina, Emma and David made a dive for Greg, it was Snow who's mothering instinct made her divert and run to Henry. Emma was thrown back by a magic force so hard that hit the ground with such violence she was sure she must have broken bones. Her ears ringing with pain, she turned her head just in time to see Snow and Henry pulled into the vortex. Charming ran with all his might to get to there in time, but it was too late. They were gone.

The vortex closed and all that was left were three lost souls lying on the wooden docks beneath the greying sun. Charming sobbing, shattered, on his knees looking half dead and half alive. Emma, crumpled on the ground not moving. Her son. Her mother. Gone. Some Saviour she was turning out to be.

And yet somehow, it was Regina who had pulled it together first. All Emma remembered was Regina pulling her to her feet. The brunettes faces was marred with tears, but there was also a look that Emma recognised straight away - sheer determination.

"Pull it together Ms. Swan." was what snapped Emma back to reality. "We need to focus. We need to act fast. You can fall apart once we have them back, but not now. We need to find Gold and we need to find a way to open the vortex and find our way to them."

But they hadn't opened the vortex and they hadn't found them. No, quite the opposite. Charming was beginning to loose hope as day after day, every attempt to open the vortex failed. It was as if Storybrooke had fallen into an early winter, dark clouds hovered over the sleepy town day and night. The loss of Snow and Henry had hit everyone, it was as if time was once again frozen. And then as suddenly as the vortex has vanished before their very eyes, it had reopened and they had returned. But they hadn't returned alone.

Emma opened her eyes again in the darkness. She looked at the clock again. 3.27am. She wondered if she would ever sleep again. She had never been a good sleeper, trained from a young age to always sleep with one eye open. Growing up in the system, you learnt fast that sleep was your enemy. When your eyes were closed people could steal your stuff, they could touch you, they could hurt you. Sleep had evaded her for weeks due to the persistent fear that the family she had finally found after 28 years alone were slipping through her fingers. Henry was gone, Snow was gone. Charming was fading away right in front of her eyes, no longer the strong, optimistic, brave man she knew. And even Regina was crumbling. Yes, Regina was her family too. On the surface, Regina was focused, resolute, reading every magic book she could get her hands on trying to find a way to open the vortex. She didn't eat, she barely talked. But as the days passed, Emma could see that Regina was falling apart. Her resolve was breaking, she was no longer convinced she would be able to find a way to bring them back.

Towards the end of the third week, Emma found Regina standing in her library, surrounded by books. She had been reading, lost in her thoughts, when she had accidentally knocked one of the many piles of books off the desk and onto the floor. She went to curse as she leaned down to pick them up but had stopped. Nestled in one of the books had been a photo. Regina just stared at it and froze like a statue. In the photo she was crying, but the tears were happy ones. The smile on her face was incomprehensible to her now, wide and full of hope. In her arms she cradled a baby, no more than a month old. The photo had been taken the day Regina had finally got to hold Henry in her arms for the first time. She had given up all hope of having a child of her own what felt like a lifetime ago. After all, isn't that how all this pain started in the first place? And yet, when she got to hold Henry for the first time it somehow felt like the vast valley of grief and pain and darkness that had split her heart in two was finally mending.

"Regina?" Regina didn't look up, but she reached down and picked up the picture. Emma had silently entered the room and instantly felt as though she were interrupting an incredibly intimate moment. She half expected Regina to tell her to 'Get out!' and 'Leave me alone Ms. Swan!' but Regina didn't say anything as Emma walked towards her. As Emma got within a few short steps of Regina she could see the photo the Mayor was holding.

"We'll get him back Regina" Emma said, her voice not wavering. "We just have to keep trying." Emma heard it before she saw it, an audible crack coming from inside of Regina. Emma rushed the last few steps to catch the brunette before she collapsed to the floor. It broke Emma's heart to see her fall apart, to hear her sobs, to feel so powerless to stop the avalanche of emotion that was clearly tearing the older woman apart. Emma pulled Regina into her as the two of them fell to the floor. She wrapped her arms around Regina trying to anchor her as her cries ricocheted throughout the room.

"It's all my fault" Regina sobbed, clutching at Emma's jacket. "All of this, all this pain, all this misery. Henry, Snow, everything. It's all my fault." Emma shook her head as she rubbed Regina's back. There were tears rolling down her face.

"It's no one's fault Regina. We're going to fix this." Regina shook her head violently and started to pull away from Emma.

"You know it's my fault, just say it! Just say it!" Emma shook her head again as she could feel Regina's sadness turning to anger. Emma knew Regina wanted her to scream it, she had been wanting it for weeks. Charming hadn't held back, he had let his vitriol rain down on Regina numerous times as the three of them huddled together trying to find a solution. It was his way of feeling just a morsel better, so Regina had let him use her as an emotional punching bag every time things looked dire. 'You're to blame! You're to blame for everything! You doomed this whole town! You took my wife, you took my daughter and now you've doomed your own son! What kind of a mother are you?!' he had screamed at her more than once. But Emma had always said nothing. She hadn't defended Regina, because she knew the brunette hadn't wanted her too. She had just let her Dad yell and scream and watch as Regina sat there saying nothing. Eventually Emma would just say something like 'This isn't helping Dad. Why don't you go for a walk?' and he would storm out and the two women would just stare at each other for the briefest of moments before resuming their impossible task.

But not anymore. Regina wanted to hear it, she needed to hear it. She needed Emma to say the awful words that she had said to herself every day and every night since Henry and Snow had disappeared. But Emma wouldn't, she just shook her head.

"Just say it! SAY IT!" Regina yelled slamming her fists into Emma's chest.

"No." Emma said, barely above a whisper.

"You think it, so just say it!" Regina said, her voice still ravaged by her tears. "I ruined your life. I ruined your parents lives. I ruined the lives of everyone in this godforsaken town and now I've ruined Henry's!" But Emma just shook her head.

"I don't think that." Emma said quietly. The briefest of moments skipped between them where Regina genuinely looked shocked. How could she not think that? How could she not hate her? Want her banished? Want her dead? Of course she did, she was just lying to her.

"You're a liar." Regina spat coldly as she tried to pull away. But Emma tugged her arm back and Regina turned to look at the blonde woman, her eyes starting to heat with rage.

"You want me to say those things because that's what you think. You hate yourself for what's happened and I get that!" Emma's voice was getting stronger, louder. "You don't think I don't hate myself too? For giving up on Henry, for giving him away, for the million shitty things I did with my life before I came here?" Regina looked at Emma blankly. "But you know what, we don't get to play the victim card this time Regina." The brunette stared at her bitterly and tried to wrench her arm away, but Emma held strong.

"I wasn't playing the victim card" Regina said angrily. "Quite the opposite."

"Fine, you being a martyr and me playing the victim!" Emma practically shouted. "We don't get to do that! We've both done a lot of crappy things in our lives Regina and had a lot of crappy things done to us. But this..." she said, waving her free hand in the air. "This is not our fault. You protected Henry all these years, you protected him and loved him and cared for him when I didn't. It's not your fault they took him. It's not your fault and it's not mine. We don't get to blame ourselves for every fucked up thing that happens in this world just so we can curl up in a ball and scream defeat!"

Even Emma looked surprised by her outburst, but Regina didn't rebut her. She said nothing. The two of them sat silently as the vintage mahogany clock that sat on Regina's desk ticked with excruciating loudness, as if to remind them that every second they sat there they were wasting more time. Emma finally cleared her throat.

"We just need to find a way to fix this" she said somberly, slumping back against the wall in defeat. She was still holding Regina's arm, keeping the older woman close. But Regina's mind was beginning to drift as she stared at the hundreds of books strewn around the room. All consumed with the promise of a spell or some magic that could reopen the vortex and give them back their loved ones. But all tossed to the side as one after one, the books proved worthless.

"And what if I can't..." Regina finally whispered. The feeling of defeat growing stronger and stronger inside of her, threatening to take over.

"That's not an option I'm willing to consider" Emma said.

* * *

><p>Regina sat at the dining room table in the dark. It was getting close to 4am and she hadn't slept a wink. She hadn't even tried, knowing that there was absolutely no way it would come. Her fingers toyed with the untouched glass of wine that she had poured more than 3 hours ago when she had finally given up on laying in bed and had come downstairs. She stared blankly at the lush scarlet liquid in the glass, her mind swimming with the days revelations. Henry was upstairs, sleeping soundly. She knew because she had sat at the foot of his bed for over an hour, watching his chest rise and fall contently.<p>

Henry was home. Henry was safe. More than that, Henry was happy. Whatever had happened on the other side had changed him. What had been the most torturous month of her life had in actual fact only been a week for he and Snow White. And yet somehow the trials and tribulations, the adventures they had gone through clearly having had an impact on the young boy. And yet he seemed older, more mature, more understanding. The feeling in her heart when he had run into her arms after coming through the vortex was indescribable. Delirious with happiness is the only way she could think to describe it.

When she had pulled away from the hug, crouching down so she could cradle his face, see his eyes, truly let herself believe it was him she had felt overwhelmed.

"There's so much to tell you Mom" he had said as he watched the tears roll down her face. "I understand everything now. It wasn't your fault, none of it was. I know you think it was but it wasn't." Regina had of course assumed he meant his disappearance into the vortex, somehow understanding that she had of coursed blamed herself. It was only hours later after what felt like a lifetime of conversations that she began to understand that his emphasis was on 'none'. "None of it was your fault." And yet somehow, here alone in the darkness armed with a lifetime of hidden secrets and manipulations revealed, Regina felt worse than ever before.

After she had quietly closed Henry's door she had walked slowly down the corridor to the guest room and stood silently outside the door. She didn't even dare to breath. She pricked her ears and listened with every morsel of her power to even make out faint breathing, but there was nothing. She put her hand on the door handle, contemplating opening the door to look inside. After all, she just wanted to make sure the mysterious brunette was okay. It must feel so strange for her, to all of a sudden be ripped from everything she has ever known and be under this roof. Their worlds after all, were very different.

Regina pulled back her hand, her courage leaving her. She turned and headed down the staircase. And now, three hours later she sat motionless at the table trying to wrap her head around the incomprehensible days events. It felt like a lifetime ago, not just shy of 24 hours, that Regina had woken drearily preparing herself for another day of torturous spell searching in order to bring about Henry and Snow's return.

She, Emma and Charming had met at lunchtime at City Hall as they had everyday, sharing anything of note from their individual efforts. Of course there was nothing to note, a few possibles, maybes and potentiallys. But just as they had shrugged and muttered their goodbyes, the floor beneath them had begun to move. The small quivers quickly began to erupt into an enormous shaking, pictures falling from their hooks on the wall and smashing into the ground below.

"Earthquake!" shouted Emma as ground moved beneath her, knocking her feet out from underneath her. Charming rushed towards her and pulled her to the nearest doorframe, but Regina crouched down and stayed where she was. Glass around them began to shatter and the sounds of car alarms around the town began to erupt.

"Regina!" Emma yelled, trying to urge the older woman to take cover. But Regina instead moved towards the window. She got there just in time to watch it explode before her, throwing her arms up to protect herself as she was thrown back, smashing into the ground and showered with shards of glass. Charming struggled with Emma, trying to keep her safely in the doorframe but she pulled free and ran to Regina. Her back to the window she reached down to pull the brunette to her feet when all of a sudden everything stopped.

"Are you crazy Regina?" Emma yelled frustrated "Did you miss the 101 rule of earthquake training that says not to stand near windows!" She still had her arm outstretched, offering to pull Regina to her feet. She noticed that the older woman looked slightly off. Slightly scared, slightly giddy, slightly shocked. "What is it?" Emma asked.

"That wasn't an earthquake Ms Swan." Regina said, ignoring Emma's hand and pushing herself off the ground. They stood apart as Charming walked towards them.

"Well if it wasn't an earthquake then what was it?" He asked. Regina stared out the window and moved towards it, Charming and Emma falling in behind her. The clouds over Storybrook were storming together, lightening crackling inside of them, a dark menacing hue blanketing the entire town. In the distance the three of them could make out the epicenter of the swirling storm, the lightening and dark clouds magically pulling towards a single spot. It was Regina's house.

"I think a vortex just opened" Regina said slowly. The three of them stood silently for a few seconds more.

"Well if it did" Emma finally said, "it's opened right above your house." The three of them turned to each other and stared blankly and then in the flash of an eye all three bolted for the door and ran down the staircase and out onto the street.

* * *

><p>The people of Storybrooke were starting to emerge from their hiding places, all eyes staring upwards at the looming storm clouds.<p>

"The cruiser!" Emma shouted to Charming and Regina as she ran across the street towards the police car. Regina had barely closed the passenger door before Emma had flipped the car into gear, switched the sirens on and was gunning it down the street at a ridiculously high speed. Weaving in and out of cars that had stopped dead in the street during the quake, Emma beeped the horn furiously.

"Emma slow down!" yelled Regina from the backseat as the cruiser sped through a stop sign at 70 miles per hour towards the Mills residence. Emma paid no attention.

"Emma!" Charming yelled from the passenger seat, "She's right! Slow down or you'll kill us before we get there!" And yet the yelling only made her more determined. Emma pushed her foot harder down on the accelerator, ignoring Charming as he continued to yell at her.

As they got closer and closer to Miffin St, Regina started to feel a tingling in her fingertips. She started to breath hard, feeling her lungs contract with every breath she took. Something wasn't right, she could feel it. As the car came to a screeching halt out the front of Regina's house, Emma and Charming dove out of the car stopping for only a second to stare upwards towards the sky. The wind above them was verging on demonic, howling so loud that it drowned almost everything else out. Standing directly underneath the swirling clouds Emma could feel herself becoming lightheaded. She shook her head and turned back towards the house, 'No' she scolded to herself. 'Now you need to focus, forget about everything else. Find Henry & Snow.'

As she began to rush towards the house she felt someone pull her back violently. She turned to see Regina pulling on her jacket, her face filled with terror.

"What?!" Emma practically barked, "What is it?!" Regina shook her head.

"You can't feel that?" she yelled bewilderedly at the blonde over the howling winds. Emma knew exactly what Regina was referring to - magic, coming from inside the house. It was unlike anything Emma had ever felt before - powerful, all encompassing, an overwhelming force. Emma knew she should probably be afraid, very afraid, because after all, anyone or anything who embodied magic that strong should be feared. And yet, she just felt off-centre. Not scared, but confused.

"What are you doing?" Charming yelled up them from up the path. The magic in the air clearly lost on him. "Let's go!" he ordered, pulling his gun from his holster. Regina shook her head.

"Wait!" She yelled "Whoever is in there has some kind of incredible force. Your gun isn't going to help you Charming!"

"Forgive me if I don't put much faith in your warnings when it comes to anything magical Regina!" Charming sneered. Emma felt torn, she knew with certainty that whoever or whatever was in the house was their answer to getting Snow and Henry back. She turned to Regina.

"We have to try" she said over the wind as she unholstered her gun. Regina slowly nodded, understanding that despite what the both felt - this strange powerful magic, coursing through their veins - they had no choice but to follow it.

The two women started towards the house, following Charming as he ran up onto the porch and opened the front door. Despite the enormity of the storm outside, the chaos in the street and the general raggedness from the three weary souls that stepped inside - the house remained untouched. It was in fact eerily quiet as they entered the foyer. Emma and Charming entered the foyer with their guns drawn, looking wildly for signs of life but saw nothing. Regina however looked towards the stairs, whatever was in the house was upstairs.

Regina hissed in Emma's direction and blonde spun around. The brunette nodded towards the staircase and began to ascend them. Charming and Emma followed suit, Charming happy to let Regina take the lead. If anyone was in the house, with any luck they would attack her first and let him get Emma to safety in time.

The silence echoed through the house as the trio tiptoed up the stairs towards the landing. Out of the corner of her eye, Regina could see that Henry's door was ajar and she knew instantly that the intruder was in Henry's room. Every night over the past 3 weeks when she had come home, exhausted and feeling like her eyes were going to roll out of her head from having read too many spell books, she would sit in Henry's room. Lay on his bed. Smell his pillows and finger his toys. And she would cry. She would cry for hours. But eventually, she would pull herself together and leave the room. And she knew without a doubt that she always closed the door.

She looked at Emma and turned her head towards Henry's door then nodded. Emma nodded understanding that someone or something was in the room. Emma started to creep towards the door when all of a sudden she heard a thud. While it wasn't a loud sound in any other circumstance, a book falling on the floor most likely, in the suffocating silence of the mansion the sound was deafening.

Charming made a move towards the door, but Emma stopped him. They would have a better chance with this creature sneaking up on it then announcing their attack with brute force. Emma held up her palm to Charming, signaling for him to wait. She looked to Regina but Regina's eyes were fixated on the door, her expression perplexing.

Knowing that the time for action had arrived Emma swiftly but silently moved towards the door quickly pushing it open. She was startled by what she saw to say the least. There was no creature, no magical beast, no warrior in the room - just a young woman with her back to Emma, holding in her hand a small wooden box. Emma felt herself hesitate for the briefest of seconds until she realised the box the intruder was holding belonged to Henry. Emma would recognise it anywhere, afterall, she had given it to him.

The box was small, no bigger than an adults fist. On the front of the box where five rows of ivory cubes, each row containing 10 cubes, 50 in total. All with their own unique symbol on them. The cubes could be spun around, each showing four sides. Neal had given it the box to Emma for her 18th birthday, just before everything had turned to dust between them. She had held onto it for all those years despite the pain and anger it stirred in her because she couldn't bring herself to throw it away. So when Henry's birthday had come around earlier this year, Emma thought it perfect to pass the unwanted trinket onto him.

The intruder stared down at the box, completely lost in thought and unaware of Emma's presence. 'Now or never' Emma said to herself went to lift her gun. The girl turned at the last minute, broken from her trance. Emma rushed towards her watching almost in slow motion as the girl started to raise her hand. 'She's going to use magic on me' Emma fear told her, pushing down the other voice that was crying out inside her head. Knowing if she shot and killed the girl, she would be further from Henry and Snow then ever before, Emma swiftly spun the gun in her hand as she moved at lightening speed towards the intruder. Just as she came into reach, she swung her arm with all her might. The sound of the butt of the gun cracking against the girls head was sickening. Like metal colliding with bone in brute force. The intruder collapsed to the floor at once, eyes closed, completely unconscious. Emma's breathing shallowed as Charming and Regina rushed into the room.

Emma knelt down to the girl, blocking out the flurried noises of an excited Charming. "You got her! Good job Emma! Good job!" she could faintly hear as he patted her on the back.

'She was going to use magic on you' Emma told herself again as she wiped gently at the thick, crimson blood starting to trickle down the girls face, instantly feeling sick with regret. 'No...' the other voice inside her finally said 'she was telling you to stop'.

* * *

><p>Lucy could hear the faintest flurry of voices from somewhere far away. Far away and under water and all mixed up like a jumble of words that she knew should make sense to her but she couldn't for the life of her make sense of right now. Her head was throbbing beyond belief and she could feel the wet warm stickiness of fresh blood drying down the left side of her face. She felt like she been kicked in the head by a wild stallion. Or just hit in the face with a blunt object by a total lunatic.<p>

Lucy tried to move her hand to her head but instantly realised that she was stuck. She groggily began to open her eyes, but her vision was too blurry to quite make anything out. She was sitting upright and was tied to something, but not tide with rope. Someone had used magic to bind her arms behind her back. The magic was strong. Her blood froze in her veins. Cora, she thought. Cora's magic. No... not it wasn't Cora's magic. It wasn't strong enough. But it was connected to Cora somehow. This wasn't good, she thought, shaking her head. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Snow had warned her this was a bad idea. Splitting up so she could retrieve the box while Snow and Henry searched for their loved ones. But Lucy knew that the Soul Screamers were right behind them and unless she got to the box in time, all this would be for nothing. And now she was tied to a chair while some of Cora's crazy henchmen tried to... well, god only knows.

She opened her eyes again and focused on ground in front of her. Her vision was swaying from double to blurred to triple with every blink. But at least the voices were starting to be a little clearer.

"What the hell are you saying? She broke into your home, she was trying to steal his things! Clearly she's one of them! She must know where they are and you're just saying we should let go?!" a man said in an angry whisper.

"I didn't say we should let her go" a calm, raspy voice said. "I simply said beating her within an inch of her life before we've even established who she is, isn't the best idea."

The arguing continued and Lucy lifted her head slightly to try and make out where she was. Her blurred vision made out white, cream ivory, eggshell and every other dull pale colour known to man. She was still in the foyer of the house Henry said he lived in. So at least it stood to reason that she hadn't been out long if they hadn't moved her very far. And if she hadn't been out long, she still had a good chance of saving Snow and Henry.

As the voices began to get raised and more heated, Lucy heard one voice rise above the other two. "Look, stop it! Both of you, just stop it! We're waisting time! Whoever she is, she knows where they are. So yes, I will ask her nicely but we don't have time to stuff around here. This is best lead we've had in a month and the only way to make sure we don't loose it is to act quickly."

Lucy groaned loudly, trying to make it seem as though she were just coming too and had heard none of their conversation. The three voices stopped and they began to walk towards her, each one still keeping their distance except the blonde. Lucy lifted her head towards her and subtly started to try and break her wrists free from the magical bind. Her vision was still incredibly blurred and she felt as though her left eye was beginning to swell, making it even harder to make out the faces of her captures.

The blonde woman stopped just a few short feet in front of where Lucy was tied to the chair.

"How's that head feeling?" she asked as she folded her arms across her chest. Lucy looked up and squinted.

"It's been better" she breathed out. "But I can't say it hasn't been worse." The howling wind from outside the house was growing stronger. Lucy swallowed hard, the Soul Screamers were getting closer to breaking through the protective force field.

"Well I can make it better for you if you like" the blonde said. "Or I can make it worse. So why don't you just tell me where they are?"

Lucy continued to wriggle her hands behind her back. The longer she kept the blonde talking to her, the better chance she had of breaking free.

"Where's who?" Lucy said, feigning confusion.

"I know you know who I'm talking about." The blonde said through gritted teeth.

"Well actually someone hit me in the head and I'm feeling a little foggy at the moment. So no, I don't know what your talking about." Lucy gave a floppy smile and she saw out of the corner of her eye that the male counterpart of the trio was rushing towards her.

"You think this is funny?" he yelled at her. Lucy shrugged her shoulders.

"What's funny?" she said.

"WHERE ARE THEY?" the man screamed, his patience clearly thinning with every passing second. Lucy shrugged and closed her eyes.

"There are so many places they could be..." she said in a wafty sing-song voice, "I think they went that way" she said and nodded towards the front door. The trio looked door and then at each other in confusion. The howling from outside was building to a roar, the house beginning to rattle all around them. The blonde shook her head, she looked towards the brunette who was standing back from them all, deep in thought.

"We don't have time for this!" The blonde said, turning her head to the brunette. Lucy squinted, trying to make out the brunettes expression, but she couldn't. The brunette said nothing. The blonde took that as all the approval she needed. She took one final step towards to Lucy, putting her hands on the arms of the wooden chair Lucy was bound too, their faces inches apart.

"Listen to me, I don't want to hurt you, but I will. So you have five seconds to tell me where Henry and Snow White are or we're going to have to do this a different way." Lucy could make out green eyes that were awash with sadness. Something wasn't quite right here, but as her mind was still struggling to just keep the room from spinning she had no hope of using her senses to get to the bottom of it.

"I answered your question" Lucy said simply, her wrists were starting to get movement, the magical bind was close to being undone. Just stay with me a minute longer, she thought staring at the blonde.

"Last chance" the blonde said, anger rising in her voice.

"Well," Lucy said flicking her wrists furiously, she was almost free "maybe they did go that way," she said again nodding again towards the front door. "Or maybe they went that way," she said nodding her head in the direction of the back door. "But as for me..." she said motioning for the blonde to come closer to her, as though she were going to whisper the secret into her ear. Pausing for effect, Lucy dropped her voice an octave and whispered "Personally I like a shortcut." She sat back in chair and smiled at the confused looking blonde. Finally the brunette spoke.

"She's quoting Alice in Wonderland" was all she said in a tired voice.

The blonde's eyes turned to fury and spun back to Lucy shoving the chair backwards with all her might. As the chair hit the floor Lucy finally broke the magical bind and managed to get her hands out in front, just in time for the blondes weight to come crashing down on her.

Lucy knew that with the flick of her wrist she could throw the blonde across the room, but she also knew that using magic would be like running outside and waving a white flag at the Soul Screamers. They would feel her magic from 10 miles away and right now, it was better for her to fight the blonde off with her hands than her magic. She wrapped her leg around the blondes and flipped the two of them over, finally getting the upper hand for the first time all day. All of a sudden, the house shook tremendously, the chandelier above their heads rattling and threatening to come down on top of them. Lucy looked towards the window, 'They're so close' she thought.

Sensing her distraction, the blonde moved swiftly to suckerpunch Lucy in the ribs with all her strength. Lucy winced as she felt the bone crack and had no time to defend herself as the blonde flipped them again, this time putting all of her weight on Lucy's chest. She was struggling to breathe, the blonde was strong and between her throbbing head and burning lungs she was running out of options other than magic. From far away she heard the brunette cry out. She was telling the blonde to stop, to get off her.

"WHERE ARE THEY?" the blonde screamed at Lucy. Lucy was starting to black out, she couldn't breathe. She needed to clear her head but all she could think about was the searing pain of the air being pushed out of her lungs. She closed her eyes and pictured Snow and Henry. They're safe, she thought. They're not here.

She opened her eyes again and with her last morsel of air she horsely breathed out "I'll never tell you." And with that her eyes fell shut and she went limp beneath Emma.

Suddenly the front door flung open and all eyes turned towards the door. And there she stood, bow and arrow drawn, eyes sharp: Snow White.

**This is my first fic, let me know what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the sweet reviews and follows! I've pre-written a lot of this story so will be posting lots more over the coming days!**

**NOTE: A "**Baetylus"** (also **Bethel**, or **Betyl**) is a word denoting a sacred stone, which was supposedly endowed with life.**

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><p>Emma was fighting back tears. She was killing the girl, she could feel it, but she couldn't stop herself. Henry was out there and he was alone and something terrible would happen if she didn't find him. She had deserted him once before and she wasn't going to do that now. This girl knew where he was and she would get it out of her, even if it meant doing something truly awful.<p>

She could feel Regina rush at her, telling her to stop, pleading with her not to do this. But Charming grab at her and pulled her away.

"WHERE ARE THEY?" she screamed as the girls eyes began to fade. Emma thought back to all those busts all those years ago, getting rough with people to get answers. It was horrible, but it had to be done sometimes. The girls eyes fluttered open and Emma let up slightly, letting a trickle of air slip into the her lungs.

"I'll never tell you." she whispered. And as Emma stared into her eyes she knew it was true. Whoever this girl was, she was going to let herself die rather than tell Emma the whereabouts of Snow and Henry. It was hopeless, all was lost.

All of a sudden Emma felt a billowing gust of wind as the front door was thrown open. Her mouth dropped and her heart stopped beating. It couldn't be. She blinked through her tears to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her. Her hair was longer, her clothes were different, she almost looked more like Emma than ever before. But standing there in the doorway, the screeching wind howling all around her and an arrow drawn in her bow stood Snow White.

Emma saw her mother drop the bow and arrow and rush towards her at lightening speed, but couldn't quite make out the words she yelled. It sounded as though she had yelled "Emma no!" but that didn't make sense. Emma was too stunned to move and did nothing to stop the small brunette from crashing into her, knocking her from the listless girl on the ground beneath her. The blonde's back hit the floor with Snow crashing down on top of her.

Emma looked into Snow's eyes and for the faintest second they connected. She could see Charming over her shoulder moving swiftly towards them.

"Snow!" he yelled but she didn't even look up. Instead she turned to the girl on the floor, her face distraught.

"Lucy!" Snow yelled shaking the girl. Emma didn't move, she just let panic wash over her body.

"Lucy! Lucy!" Snow yelled again, shaking Charming's hands from her shoulders as he tried to grab her. "Oh god no no no no!" Snow cried. Snow scanned her eyes around the room and focused on Regina who stood in the corner, as white as ghost. "Regina!" Snow yelled, snapping the older woman to attention. "Help me! Regina come quickly, you need to help me!" But Regina didn't move.

Snow turned back to the girl on the floor and shook her again, tears were beginning to run down her face and she seemed truly panicked. "Come on Luc," she said cupping the girls face "don't do this to us. Not now, not after everything." Snow turned back to Regina, her eyes pleading.

"REGINA!" she screamed. And suddenly Regina sprang back to life. She rushed to Snow's side and knelt beside the girl. Charming and Emma sat back in utter confusion and horror, saying nothing and watching the terrifying scene unravel. Who was this girl?

Regina hovered her hands over the young girls chest, narrowing her search along the rib cage Emma had so furiously punched just a few short moments before.

"Her rib is broken," Regina heaved out, "it's piercing her lung. She can't breathe." Snow took Regina's hand in hers and the two women looked at each other. In any other circumstance, any other time, Regina would have wrenched her hand away as though she were being bitten by a snake. But for some reason that she couldn't understand, she didn't

"Fix it Regina, fix it now" Snow said. There was no 'please' or 'try' in Snow's voice, she wasn't asking Regina to help the young girl. She was telling her too.

Emma stared back at the young girls face. The life was slowly draining from her beautiful features. Even with the blood smeared down her face and stained in her hair, the swelling dark bruise around her eye and the pale death that was starting to creep across her face, there was know taking away how breathtakingly beautiful the girl was. She wasn't yet dead, but she was close to it.

Regina softly pulled her hand back from Snow and placed it over the fractured rib. She closed her eyes and willed the magic to come. The magic to heal, to mend broken bones wasn't easy to conjure. In fact Regina had never successfully done it before. Never having wanted enough to heal another person. But deep inside of her there was a will so strong that it scared her. For whatever reason, she was willing the power within her to heal this girl.

Purple smoke seeped directly from Regina's hands into the girls body as Snow, Charming and Emma looked on in silence. Charming cleared his throat.

"Are you sure..." he began but Snow held up her hand in silence, never taking her eyes off the girl and Regina. Her eyes diverted from one to the other and then back again. Slowly Snow's mouth began to turn into the faintest of smiles.

"It's working..." she said. And sure enough, Emma could see that colour was returning to the girls face. She looked at Regina, but her eyes were still closed, she was conjuring every piece of energy she could muster into performing this healing.

Emma pulled herself to her knees, and leaned over the girl alongside her mother. Slowly and with great struggle the girls eyes finally fluttered open and she gasped for air. Regina slumped backwards, utterly exhausted having drained herself almost to the point of collapse.

"Lucy!" Snow beamed down at the girl. Lucy tried to smile, but instead winced horribly and rolled onto her side facing away from Snow and Emma and towards Regina. She coughed and gasped loudly and with pain, trying to get oxygen back into her listless body. But every breath she drew was like drawing fire. Regina had managed to repair the lung, but she couldn't repair the broken ribs altogether.

Snow stood to her feet and turned to Emma, for the first time since having burst through the door in a blaze of glory she smiled at her daughter.

"Help me get her up" she said to Emma as she crouched down to help pull Lucy from the floor. Emma hesitated but then moved swiftly to help her mother. She was trying to real her brain in. 'What the fuck just happened?' she thought to herself.

As all five of them stood, Lucy still doubling over in pain and trying to steady herself, they looked at each other. Snow smiled feebly at Charming, who looked as though he had seen a thousands ghosts all at once. She then turned to Regina and smiled, but the brunette just stared at her blankly. She turned back to Lucy, touching her arm.

"Are you okay Luc?" Snow asked tenderly. Lucy nodded, starting to steady herself.

"You know these people?" she said horsely. Snow smiled gently.

"This is my husband" she said pointing to Charming. "And this is my daughter, Emma." Lucy looked as though she were about to keel over again and scrunched her face up.

"That's your daughter?!" she said in a high pitched voice. "She's totally crazy." Emma screwed her face up.

"Hey" she said defensively, but couldn't think of anything else to say.

"We did try to ask you nicely" Charming said on Emma's behalf as Lucy put her hands on her hips and doubled over again.

"Yeah, right after you nearly split my head in two" she muttered. Lucy took a breath and stood up straight, looking towards Regina. Only now seeing her clearly for the first time. "And who are you?"

Snow inhaled sharply as the two dark haired women stared at each other. This isn't how this should happen, she thought to herself. Why does every monumental emotional moment in our lives have to come at the worst possible time?

"This is..." Snow started. She faltered for a moment and Lucy turned to her, but Regina never took her eyes off the younger girl. "This is Regina." Snow said. The look on the younger woman's face was one of utter shock, her mouth dropping open a slightly.

"Oh" she finally breathed out. Regina shook her head in confusion and was about to say something when all of a sudden she heard an all to familiar voice coming from the doorway that Snow had crashed through a few moments earlier.

"Mom?"

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><p>All five of them in the foyer turned their eyes to Henry. He stood in the front door, taking in the crazy looking state of affairs. Standing with the winds screaming and the dark magical storm skies behind him, Henry looked more like a young man then a boy.<p>

There was glass and blood on the floor and he could tell that whatever had taken place in the foyer of his home had only recently come to a halt. But he looked up at his grandparents and mothers and smiled. Finally he took a step forward and rushed towards Regina. He hugged her with all his might, while she looked like her heart was a mere second from stopping altogether.

"Henry" she whispered in the shallowest of breathes as she pulled him in tighter. She looked up at Emma in disbelief. Their son, he was here. He was finally back. Emma moved towards them and Henry outstretched his arms, not quite letting go of Regina but pulling all three of them into an enormous hug.

"We were so worried" Emma cried out as cuddled the boys head to her stomach. "We tried everything to find you" she rasped out. He just nodded, with his eyes closed.

"I know" he said reassuringly to them both. "I know you did. But I'm okay. I'm here."

Snow pulled her eyes away from the mesmerising scene and looked at her husband for the first time. She stepped towards him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Charming grabbed her, pulling her so close she could hardly breathe. She was back. Henry was back. They were safe and they were back.

The reunion was short lived, when a gust of howling wind roared so loudly through the house that it felt as though the roof would well and truly come off. Snow turned to Lucy, the happiness on her face quickly being replaced with concern. Their eyes met and it was as if they were having a conversation without words. Suddenly Henry gasped and pulled away from his mothers, seeing the state of Lucy for the first time. He rushed to her, grabbing at her to pull her towards him.

"Lucy!" Henry cried bewilderedly. "What happened?" He looked up at the girl with overwhelming love in his eyes. Emma and Regina stared on, mystified at how Henry could be so emotionally over a girl that neither of them knew.

Snow took a step towards the two them, a different kind of concern creeping over her face that only Lucy saw. Snow knew that if Henry found out it was his moms and grandfather who were responsible for the young girls injuries, the happy moment they had all finally shared would disappear as quickly as it had arrived.

"I, ah," the girl stuttered as she looked back at Henry. She put her hands on his shoulders and leant forward, a smiling creeping across her face. "I fell." Henry screwed his face up in disbelief. Her face was smeared with blood and deep bruises were beginning to appear.

"You fell?" he stammered, not convinced.

"I was running up the stairs, trying to find the box and I slipped and fell. Whacked my head pretty good" she said still smiling. Henry looked over at his moms, a look of confusion in his face.

"I don't understand" he said. "What are you all doing here anyway?" Lucy stood straight and threw an arm across Henry's shoulders. She made eye contact with Regina and Emma briefly before looking back at Henry.

"They were helping me" she said resolutely. Suddenly Henry shrugged and smiled, turning back to Lucy.

"I told you they were heros!" He said beaming. Lucy nodded staring back at the boy.

"Yes" she said genuinely. "And you were right."

Another howling screech ricocheted throughout the house, suddenly snapping Emma to attention. She spun her head towards the door.

"Seriously" she yelled. "What the hell is that?" Emma looked back at Snow and Lucy. Lucy took a few short steps to the front door and stepped outside. Snow began to follow her, picking up her bow and arrows that she had dropped on the ground. Quickly the others trailed them outside. As they all stepped onto the garden path and looked towards the sky they could see that the lightening was getting stronger and closer. The dark clouds were turning to black. The streets were beginning to look as though it were the middle of the night even though it was still only the early afternoon. Another gust of wind blew down Miffin St and the group all turned their faces to protect themselves. Regina pulled Henry close to her forcefully.

"They're going to break through any minute" Lucy yelled to Snow, who grimaced as she nodded in agreement.

"Did you find it?" Snow yelled over the howling winds. "Did you find the box?" Lucy blinked looking back at her. The box! Between the blow to the head and her near death experience, she had forgotten all about why she had gone to the house in the first place. She nodded.

"It was upstairs!" she yelled, turning quickly back towards the house. Emma grabbed the younger girls arm, twisting her back to face her.

"You mean this?" Emma yelled holding up the small wooden box. Lucy almost smiled and reached for it, but Emma pulled it away. "Not until you tell me what's going on!" She yelled over the storm. They all huddled together as a lightening bolt burst through the sky and hit a tree near by.

"We don't have time for this!" Lucy yelled holding her hand out for Emma to give her the box.

"You said 'they're going to break though'?!" Emma yelled again over the wind. "What are they? What did you bring here with you?" Snow stepped forward.

"They're Soul Screamers Emma" she yelled, catching the look of utter fear wash across Charming and Regina's face. Emma saw it too and looked around at the circle. Clearly everyone knew what a Soul Screamer was but her.

"What the fuck is a Soul Screamer?" she yelled again as more lightening hit close by.

"They're what you would might call a Grim Reaper" Charming said, his voice booming. "Only they're have dark magic, they travel in packs and they kill you by sucking your soul out of body." Emma stared at him in disbelief. "And" he added "they can't be killed because they're not actually alive." Charming turned towards Snow.

"I thought all the Soul Screamers were destroyed, trapped within the earths core!" Snow nodded.

"They were" she yelled. "But someone found a way to get them out." She turned to Regina, there was almost sympathy in her eyes.

"Cora" Regina whispered. While Emma and Henry didn't hear the word, Lucy, Snow and Charming sure did. Another scream bellowed through the streets of Storybrooke. All five of them winced and fell to the ground, covering their ears trying the block out the horrific sound. Finally it faded and Lucy was the first to stand.

"Give me the box!" she yelled again. "I need to get it open!" Before Emma could even act, Snow snatched the box from her hand and threw it to Lucy. Emma looked at her confused.

"Open?" Emma yelled as they all stood again. "What do you mean open?!" The four of them stood on watching as Lucy furiously moved her fingers over the ivory cubes, spinning all 50 of them into a very specific position. Emma suddenly realised, the cubes weren't just pretty decoration as she had always thought. They were both the key and lock to opening it. As the thunder, lightening and howling continued to rain down on them, Lucy finally clicked the last cube into place. The she slid the box in half to reveal a hidden compartment and from there she pulled a small looking diamond the size of a chestnut. Regina gasped.

"A baetylus!" she exhaled. Lucy smiled at her and the two locked eyes properly for the first time. Lucy stepped towards her.

"You know how to use this?" the young girl yelled over the bellowing winds. She held the shimmering stone out to Regina. It wasn't so much of a question as a statement. She nodded at Regina, encouraging her to take the stone. "You can open a vortex to the earths core with this" Lucy yelled. Regina shook her head.

"I don't know how. I've never done that before" Regina said, shaking her head Snow stepped forward.

"Have you ever healed someone, bringing them back from the brink of death Regina?" Snow yelled, referring to what had happened earlier in the house. "You can do this" Snow said, more softly, reassuringly. Regina looked from Snow to the girl.

"You have magic! I can feel it coming off you like a tidal wave. Yours is..." Regina hesitated. "Yours is light magic" she finished. "It should be you." The young girls faced started to look pained, she shook her head.

"You can do this" Lucy said softly, the wind almost blowing her words away. Regina started looking angry, she stepped towards the girl again.

"You don't understand! You don't know me, my magic, it's dark... I could do it wrong. I could destroy us all." Charming stepped forward, a shaking his head as look of concern on his face.

"Regina's right. She can't be trusted with a baetylus!" he yelled. Suddenly a bolt of lightening cracked so loud above them it felt as though the world had split in two. They all looked to the sky in terror, squinting their eyes they could see what looked like black smokey tar seeping from the clouds.

"They're through" Lucy yelled. She turned back to Regina, forcing the stone into the older woman's hand. "You can do this Regina, I know you can" she said, using the older woman's name for the first time.

"Mom" Henry yelled. "You have to listen to her, don't you see..." Henry was about to yell something but Emma cut him off.

"But why can't you do it?" she screamed over the screeching winds as she looked at Lucy. Lucy looked up at the sky and then back towards the street. She began to back away from the group.

"Because I have to lead them away" she yelled. "I'm the only one strong enough. Otherwise, they'll destroy this place and kill everyone in it." Regina, Emma and Charming all looked on in terror. Snow stepped towards Lucy.

"I'll get them to the forest" she yelled. "Do you know where to go?" Lucy nodded stepping away closer towards the street, her eyes now focussed on the black tar that was starting to form shapes above them.

"Wait a minute" Emma suddenly yelled, running into the street with the girl. "Are you crazy?! You can't go after them alone!" Emma grabbed at Lucy's arm but the girl shook her head.

"No you need to stay with them. You need to keep them safe and you need to help her" she said looking to Regina so only Emma could hear. "You have magic within you too, I can feel it. She's going to need your help."

Regina watched as the two younger women conversed in the street. The world felt as though it was collapsing around them. She shook her head violently. If Cora was the source of this, and Regina had little doubt that was true, then it should be her to face the Soul Screamers. She followed Emma and Lucy into the street as Henry, Snow and Charming ran after them as well.

"Take the damn Baetylus!" Regina yelled, thrusting it back at Lucy. "You open the vortex and I'll fight the Soul Screamers." It was getting too close, they were running out of time, Snow and Lucy both began to look panicked.

"No" Lucy yelled again, more loudly and firmly this time. "You just have to trust me. This is the only way." She looked resolute, she wasn't going to budge. Why was this girl so ridiculously stubborn? Regina shook her head again.

"You don't know Cora like I do, you don't know what she's capable of!" Regina screamed. "If she sent them here, then it was to hurt me. That's all she's ever wanted!" Lucy looked at Regina, her eyes welling with sadness. But instead of stepping further away this time, she stepped towards the older woman.

"I know who she is, I know what she's capable of" Lucy said. She looked into the older woman's eyes and closed her hands over Regina's outstretched palm that held the baetylus. "I know it doesn't make sense right now" Lucy said, her words barely audible. "But I know you too and I know what you're capable of. You can do this Regina. You can open the vortex, you can save us all."

And with that the skies finally collapsed. The Soul Screamers had forced their way through the force field above and were heading towards them. Lucy looked at Snow and the two of them understood exactly what do do.

"We have to get to the forest!" Snow yelled. Emma looked to the cruiser and back to the group.

"The cruiser" she screamed grabbing Henry and Regina and pulling them across the street. The Soul Screamers where closing in on them, the noise coming from the floating black shapes deafening.

Emma, Regina and Henry scrambled into the front seat of the cruiser while Snow and Charming jumped in the back. The engine roared to life and Emma pushed it into gear but before she could drive away Regina grabbed her arm.

"Wait!" she screamed "Where is she? Where did Lucy go?" They all looked to the street but the young girl was gone. Snow clambered half of her body out of the window and stared at the sky. Where the Soul Screamers were just a few short seconds ago they now seemed to be moving in a different direction. Snow slid back into the back seat, behind Emma.

"Just go Emma! Quickly!" she yelled. Emma didn't have to be told twice, she floored the accelerator and the car sped up Mifflin St, away from the town and towards the forest boundaries. Regina glared at Snow but didn't say anything as Snow sat back in her seat. Her face was guilty, awash with knowledge that Regina clearly did not have.

"We have to get to the forest Regina and we have to get the vortex open. You just have to trust Lucy that she knows what she's doing" Snow said in answer to a question that had never been asked. Regina glared at her coldly.

"Stop telling me to trust her! I don't know her!" Regina yelled in frustration. Henry grabbed his Moms arm gently, trying to reassure her.

"But you do know her Mom" he said gently. Regina looked at him confused and slowly shook her head.

"Henry" she started to say but the boy shook his head frustrated and cut her off.

"I can see it in your eyes, you remember. You know who she is! You can feel it!"

"Henry" Snow said from the backseat. Her tone was warm, but also warning the boy to stop. "This isn't the time for this."

"Isn't the time for what?" Regina yelled back at Snow. The car tires screeched as Emma pulled tightly into the gravel road that took them off the paved roads of Storybrooke and into the forest. All five passengers lurched sideways, trying to grab a hold of something to steady them.

"Goddamn it Ms Swan! Are you trying to ensure we all die in a car wreck before the Soul Screamers even get to us?!" Regina yelled, wanting to take her growing anger out on someone.

"MOM!" Henry yelled loudly. Everyone stopped and looked at him, even Emma glancing in his direction as she tried to remain focussed on keeping the speeding vehicle on the road.

"Henry, what is it?" Regina said gently, her voice full of concern. The boy was clearly upset, and while given the current circumstances he had plenty of reason to be, there was obviously a different reason for his distress.

"You need to focus" the boy said grabbing at her Regina's hands. "Lucy needs you. We all need you. You have to get vortex open so she can draw the Soul Screamers through. She said you could do this, she knew you can, she trusts you."

Regina looked down at Henry and for once she couldn't think of anything to say. She just sat staring at him blankly. Henry squeezed her hands.

"I know you're scared. We're all scared. But together you're stronger than Cora. I believe in you. Lucy believes in you" he paused, swallowing hard. "But she needs you to believe in her too."

Regina shook her head slowly, she didn't understand.

"Why?" she said slowly as a silence fell over the car.

"Because" Henry said as the car came to a violent stop, "she's your daughter. Lucy is your daughter."


	3. Chapter 3

Lucy ran so fast that the streets around her were nothing but a blur. Her lungs burned, her chest throbbed, her head ached and even her legs felt like they were about to give out on her. But she pushed the pain to the side and kept running. She didn't need to turn around, she could feel the Soul Screamers on her back. The would chase her down until she had nothing left, but they wouldn't kill her. Cora would never let them do that. Cora wanted Lucy's soul all for herself. Instead, once they had her they would hand her to Cora and in return she would set them free to reign chaos and terror on the world as their reward.

Lucy could see the forest up ahead. She had run almost a full loop of the Storybrooke, steering the Soul Screamers away from Snow, Regina and the others so they had time to get the vortex open. And she truly hoped they were close to getting it done because she was loosing ground and she wouldn't be able to hold them off much longer.

As she reached the edges of the forest, she could feel them gaining on her. She quickly maneuvered sharply steering away from the clear walking path that would have made her run easier and into the dense forrest canopies where it would be harder for the Soul Screamers to come at her with such speed.

Finally she twisted her head and looked behind her, still running full steam ahead up a steep hill. While thick foliage had forced the ghastly creatures to dropped back slightly, one of them was managing to weave low between the trees and was now less than 100 feet away. 'I'll never make it' she thought, knowing she still too far from where the others. She would have to use magic now, it was her only chance.

Lucy ran as hard as she could to the top of the hill and as she hit the summit she spun back around throwing her hands forcefully out towards the incoming Soul Screamer. It was so close she could see right into the empty black cavities where it's eyes had long since rotted away. White magic coursed through her hands and exploded into the air. It threw the Soul Screamer back, letting out a blood curdling screech in response. But as well as pushing back the deathly creatures, the magic moved everything in its path, bending back trees, pulling up shrubs and even moving giant rocks, anything it came into contact with. Lucy knew it wouldn't stop them, but it would give her a chance to get ahead, and that's all she needed. Without missing a beat, she turned around and kept running, picking up speed with every step.

While Snow had asked if Lucy knew where to go and she had said yes, the truth was she only knew by feeling the others out in the dense forest. But between her injuries and the magic she had used, her senses were becoming depleted with every passing minute. She knew the general direction of where she need to go but she couldn't seem to pinpoint their location. She kept running, trying to focus her energy on pushing her in the right direction. Something told her to just keep climbing higher, get to clifftops. At the very least, the higher she went the more chance she would have of seeing the vortex opening.

The magic push had thrown the Soul Screamers back, but not nearly as much as she had hoped. She could feel them getting closer and closer again, and from all sides. They were closing in on her. She willed herself to run faster and somehow managed to pick up her pace once more. She was hardly even breathing now. She tried to focus her thoughts 'Use your power Lucy' she told herself as she continued to run 'try to feel Snow'. She tried as hard as she could to channel whatever energy remained in her exhausted body into pinpointing the petite brunette, but it was no use. She could feel a general direction, but the exact location was actually getting weaker. She thought about trying for Henry, but she knew it would be the same.

'Try for Regina' a voice inside her said. 'Find Regina.' 'That's crazy' she argued with herself 'I don't even know her, how could I possibly pinpoint her soul in this enormous forest?' She kept running but she could feel that her legs were coming to an end. 'Refocus yourself' the voice said again 'Just try.' Breathing in a giant gasp of air, Lucy centred herself and pushed the magic inside of her to look for Regina. Lucy couldn't believe it when almost immediately, she could feel her. The magic in the older brunette was so strong it took what little breath Lucy had left. Not only could she feel the Regina's exact location, almost like a homing beacon, but Lucy could faintly sense what the other woman feeling, what she was thinking. She felt confusion and fear and anger coming from the older woman, but she also felt something else. Relief. They had got the vortex to open, Lucy could feel it. She could feel Regina's power coursing through her veins. And she could feel someone else's too. She was working with someone, someone was helping her.

Suddenly, as though an epiphany had been bestowed on her, Lucy knew exactly what to do. She maneuvered quickly again and sprinting towards the clifftop up ahead of her. The Soul Screamers were so close she could feel the sick oily heat radiating off them. She was almost there.

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><p>Emma watched as Regina grew more and more frustrated, her magic clearly not doing what she was trying to will it to do. She was able to bring the baetylus to life and pull open the vortex open in quick rapid bursts, but she couldn't get it to stay open in the steady flow that they needed it to be.<p>

Snow and Charming had disappeared into separate corners of the clearing, acting as lookouts for Lucy and Soul Screamers.

As the vortex once again flickered open and shut, Henry standing silently to the side had looked to his birth mom, his eyes silently pleading with her to do something. The problem was Emma was even more afraid then Regina that she didn't know what she was doing. She looked at Regina and saw the utter frustration and fear in the brunettes face. Emma could feel her trying to settle her nerves, calm her emotions, but it was no use. She had just found out that she had a daughter, a daughter she had been tricked into believing had died in child birth a lifetime ago. Now this daughter was running for her life through the forest, trying to prevent hell from breaking out on earth. And now Regina had to conjure powerful magic she had never used before to activate this damn baetylus and open a vortex to another world or they were all dead. 'Not exactly a fairytale day' Emma thought to herself.

Emma stepped forward to Regina, who had her back to her. She reached out and put her hand on the brunettes shoulder. She meant for the action to be soothing, but straight away she could feel anger rising up in Regina. Instead of letting go, she squeezed even harder.

"Let me help" she said quietly.

"How could you possibly help Ms Swan?" Regina said through gritted teeth. "You can't even light a damn candle with your magic." Emma kept her hand on Regina's shoulder and firmly twisted the older woman to face her.

"I know" she said. "But you can. And you can tell me what to do. I promise, I'll listen to you. I'll do exactly what you say."

Regina closed her eyes. She wanted to scream so loud that whatever glass was still standing in Storybrooke would shatter instantaneously. Why was this happening and why couldn't she focus her energy properly? If she could just focus then she could steady her magic to keep the vortex open for more than just a few seconds at a time. 'She didn't die. You have a daughter. She was alive all this time and you did nothing' even with everything going on, Regina couldn't silence the berating voice in her head.

"Tell me what to do Regina. We're running out of time." Emma said loudly. Regina's eyes shot open.

"That's your way of helping? Reminding me how little time we have?!" she yelled. Emma stared at her unfazed.

"Tell me what to do" the blonde repeated. Regina sighed again and turned back to the baetylus that she was levitating in the air.

"THEY'RE COMING!" Snow yelled from the far end of the clearing. She was running towards Emma and Regina and pointing wildly towards the sky. The two women looked up and could see in the distance that a tiny figure was running at warp speed across the clifftops above them. An oily black cloud chased behind her, getting closer and closer by the second.

"Oh my god" Regina said, panic rising in her voice. "They're going to get her! They're too close!" Emma spun Regina towards her once again and forcefully put her hands on either side of Regina's head.

"Focus Regina! How do we get the vortex to stay open!" Emma yelled. Regina felt sick, she looked back quickly at the clifftops, they had less than a minute before they would be right above the landing. She closed her eyes and cleared her mind.

"I can focus on channelling my energy on where the vortex needs to point," Regina said focusing her attention back to the baetylus. "But you need to work on bringing it to life, getting it to open. You just need to concentrate, visualise it opening, transforming from a solid object to liquid window." Emma closed her eyes and did as Regina said, but it wasn't working.

"Try harder Emma" Regina said, not her usual scolding tone but more encouraging the blonde to dig deeper. "Think of your parents, think of Henry." Still nothing. "Emma" Regina said, almost pleadingly, "We're all going to die unless we can keep it open." Emma knew that Regina was just trying to motivate her, but her stomach flipped and she felt a rush of fear and anger. After all this, everything they had all gone through, they couldn't just die here in this field.

"YOU'RE DOING IT! KEEP GOING!" Emma heard Snow yell as she ran closer into the field, pulling Henry towards her and away from the women and swirling vortex.

Emma couldn't believe it, Regina's words had worked. The vortex was open and it was steady. The two women stood side by side, arms outstretched, magic thrusting out of their hands as they moved the vortex towards the sky, towards Lucy who was quickly closing in on them.

Inexplicably, Regina suddenly felt as though she knew exactly what the younger girl was going to do and her heart beat increased ten fold. Lucy wasn't trying to run Soul Screamers straight into the vortex, they wouldn't be stupid enough for that. She wanted Regina and Emma to keep it underneath the clifftop, out of sight. And when she was close enough, she would jump from the cliff diverting the Soul Screamers down with her, straight into the vortex.

Lucy's running slowed suddenly and the Soul Screamers howled as they almost had her within arms reach. They rushed at her, howling and hissing and just as they almost had her within their grasped, Lucy stepped backwards and fell straight from the ledge. The Soul Screamers tumbling after her snatching and clawing to capture her.

Regina heard Snow and Henry let out panic stricken screams as they watched Lucy fall from ledge high above them. Snow clenching her eyes shut and shielding Henry as she pulled him into her body. His small body as stiff as concrete with fear.

Emma held strong as she felt the faintest shift in the vortex for a split second before she watched the Soul Screamers one by one being sucked in the before they even knew what was happening. Their howling screams that had been ringing in their ears for what felt like hours now faded to an echo and then slowly disappeared altogether. It was over, they were gone.

* * *

><p>Almost instantly, the dark stormy clouds that had swallowed up Storybrooke disappeared before very eyes and the late afternoon sun came back out. Emma and Regina were shaking, the power and energy they were channeling to keep the vortex open almost bringing them to their knees. With one final push, magic erupted from their hands shooting up the to vortex. Instead of slowly shrinking and then closing with a soft pop, the vortex shattered violently. Bursts of fire and lightening shooting into the sky momentarily before the baetylus fell to the ground with a soft thud. What had once been a clear as crystal stone was now as black as night.<p>

Snow, Charming and Henry rushed towards the two women who as they staggered to their feet. Snow and Henry looked more distraught then ever before.

"Lucy..." Snow said in a broken whisper, "she fell through the vortex." She looked at Regina and Emma but neither woman had any expression on their face. Emma turned to Regina, searching the brunettes face trying to confirm what she thought had happened.

"Goddamn it Regina!" Snow yelled shoving the older in the chest, tears starting to well in her eyes. "Are you really that cold? Do you feel nothing at all?" Regina's apparent lack of empathy made Snow want to loose her mind. After all this time, why did she continue to believe that the older woman would ever change.

"I..." Regina started to say, but then she stopped. She smiled, her first genuine smile in so long that she couldn't even remember. Snow looked at her confused, her anger starting to rise again. She was smiling? Her daughter was trapped in the earths core with the most ungodly creatures known to man and she was smiling? Snow opened her mouth to let an array of vitriolic abuse come out but Emma lifted her hand and pointed behind her. Emma too, Snow saw, was smiling.

Snow turned around to see a very weary Lucy walking towards them from the North side of the clearing. She was soaked the bone, her hair glistening wet.

"LUCY!" Henry bellowed and ran towards the girl jumping into her arms, almost knocking her to the ground. She smiled as she hugged him and the two of continued until they were standing right next to the four adults.

"But I saw you..." Snow started, her voice overwhelmed with disbelief. "I saw you fall through the vortex."

"I changed the end point of the vortex for the split second when she fell through" Regina said, with a slight smug undertone in her voice.

"I knew it!" Emma said excitedly "I thought I felt it shift for a second!" she smiled with a big self-congratulatory smirk on her face. Everyone looked at her oddly and she shrugged and turned to Regina "Yay you" she said nudging Regina in the elbow. "So much for all the 'I can't do it!' wah wah talk" Regina narrowed her eyes and looked at Emma like she wanted to slap her.

"Do shut up" she said grumpily. Lucy ignored them and dropped her wet arm around Snow's shoulder, pulling her in tight to show her that she was indeed still alive.

"I couldn't feel you when I entered the forest" Lucy said, explaining for the rest of the group what had just taken place. "I was so tired and my energy was depleting, I didn't know where to go. But I could feel Regina" Lucy said, smiling at the brunette standing opposite her who tightly smiled back. "I pushed all my energy to her, telling her what I was going to do, draw them from the cliffs and into the vortex" she said still looking at Regina. " I thought you would just move the vortex for a second and I'd just end up with a broken leg or something from the fall." She smiled, turning back to Snow. "But instead she shifted the end point to dropped me just half a mile that way" Lucy said pointing in direction to where she had just appeared.

"Very clever" Snow said relief washing over her. She smiled at Regina.

"Would have been even cleverer if you hadn't landed in me a swamp" Lucy said, ringing out her hair. "But hey, I'm not complaining." Regina lifted an eyebrow.

"Really? Because that sounds like complaint. Would you have preferred a broken leg then?" Lucy smiled, catching the Regina's eye. She put her hands up in defeat.

"Swamp is good" she said with a cute smile. Suddenly the smile started to fade from the young girls face. Silence grew over the group and Regina took a step towards Lucy, her face starting to crease with worry.

"What's wrong?" The older woman asked looking on as Lucy's smile had all but turned into panic. The group all watched on as the young girl's face turned pale, her eyes transfixed over Emma's shoulder.

Lucy moved past Emma and Regina, kneeling down to ground picking up the baetylus. It now looked liken nothing more than a piece of scorched charcoal. A choked sob escaped Lucy's lips as Regina and Snow moved to her side, crouching down beside her. Snow knew instantly what was wrong.

"We can fix it Lucy! I'm sure we can" she said, looking to Regina for confirmation. "Right Regina?" Regina said nothing and just stared at the charred black rock in the girls hand.

"No" Lucy said quietly "we can't fix it." With the baetylus in her palm, she balled her fingers into a fist and then reopened them. The baetylus had been crushed to dust and was already drifting away on the light wind.

Snow and Regina stood, pulling the younger girl to her feet. Suddenly she didn't look strong and brave, but actually rather frail.

"We can try to find another one" Regina said trying to sound reassuring, but knowing that it didn't sound that way. She might as well have said they could just find another Holy Grail. Emma stepped towards the women.

"I don't get it" she said confused. "We used it to open the vortex, isn't that what you wanted? What's the problem?" Regina turned towards Emma.

"The problem Ms Swan, is that we used too much power on it. It's destroyed." Emma shrugged, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Good!" she said, trying to lighten the mood. "If that things destroyed it means they can't get back through. Right?!" She stepped towards Lucy and put her hand on the shoulder of the young girl reassuringly. "We're all safe now" Emma finished, squeezing Lucy's shoulder.

"You're right," Lucy said weakly. She looked up at Emma's smiling face and paused before adding "But it also means I can't get home."

All of a sudden Lucy was starting to feel like the world was turning on its axis faster than normal. She brought her hands to her head and closed her eyes. Her mother, her father, the parents that had raised her, her sisters and brothers, her friends and loved ones. Her home. Avalon. Everything gone. Lucy suddenly thought she was going to be sick, her head was spinning.

"Lucy" Henry called with concern laced in his voice, stepping towards her. Lucy lifted her head.

"I don't feel so well" she said so softly it was barely audible. She saw Regina, Snow and Henry all moving towards her in slow motion. The world was suddenly going black again, like a deep fog settling over the clearing. She tried to steady herself, she could see Emma's mouth moving, trying to say something to her and then everything disappeared.


End file.
